» News » 2004 » New Science and Technology Facility to Combine Energy Efficiency with Research

New Science and Technology Facility to Combine Energy Efficiency with Research

July 1, 2004

The future of solar cell, thin film, and nanostructure research will be built on a
hill to the east of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Solar Energy Research
Facility. There, among the native grasses, wildflowers and an occasional rattlesnake,
will be a new type of research facility that will support a new way of doing research
on several of the technologies highlighted by President George W. Bush in his National
Energy Policy, including the development of next-generation energy technologies such
as hydrogen and fuel cells.

Construction of the Laboratory's new Science and Technology Facility (S&TF) is expected
to begin in the fall and be completed in approximately two years.

"This new facility will support research on thin-film photovoltaics and nanostructures
in an environment designed to be a laboratory research facility, first and foremost,"
said Pete Sheldon, Measurements and Characterization Division manager and the technical
project manager for the S&TF.

The S&TF will provide significant advantages for state-of-the-art energy research.
Research groups sharing common interests will be co-located in the same building and
will have the ability to pursue process integration research that will ultimately
reduce the time it takes to move a technology from the lab to the marketplace. NREL
is striving to achieve a "Gold" Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
rating by incorporating a sustainable design and energy efficient features into the
new building.

Architectural Features

The 71,000 square foot S&TF is designed as a multi-level facility with the ground
level including laboratory space, office space, and a lobby. An elevated bridge will
connect the Solar Energy Research Facility (SERF) and the S&TF by linking their service
corridors. The second level will house additional general laboratories and a large
open process development and integration laboratory. The third level will house the
bulk of the S&TF's mechanical support functions including laboratory exhaust fans.

The S&TF includes seven "interaction spaces," providing seating to encourage informal
discussions among researchers. Each interaction area will house a white board and
local area network computer access as well as breathtaking views.

The exterior of the building will consist of a combination of pre-cast concrete and
metal panels that will complement nearby buildings such as the SERF and Field Test
Laboratory Building.

An Integrated Approach to Research

The S&TF was designed specifically to reduce barriers and time delays associated with
transferring technology from research and development to industry. It is less than
two-thirds the total square footage of the SERF, yet has more than 80 percent the
useable laboratory space.

"Going into this project, our emphasis was on designing functional and flexible laboratory
space," Sheldon said. "While we could always use more office space, we felt the S&TF
truly needed to be a state-of-the-art research facility."

The centerpiece of the building will be the Process Development and Integration Laboratory
(PDIL) — 10,170 square feet of laboratory space specifically designed to accommodate
a new class of thin film photovoltaics (PV) deposition, processing and characterization
tools. In the PDIL, these tools can be integrated to prototype processes in a flexible
manner.

The PDIL will allow researchers to pass samples between equipment in a controlled
way, avoiding contamination from the air. The PDIL also will allow a scientist to
integrate control systems and databases in such a way that someone who is growing
a sample can see results of a measurement and vice versa.

"Our focus is to put researchers together with no physical separations," said Brent
Nelson, who is leading the process integration project. "The PDIL will give us integrated
tools, integrated data and the added bonus of people with diverse skills working together."

In addition to the PDIL, the S&TF will include nine advanced material synthesis, characterization
and general support laboratories. The general laboratories are designed around a flexible
laboratory model that can be combined to form large open laboratories.

Energy Efficient Features

The S&TF was designed with sustainability features that will provide a 40 percent
reduction in energy use compared to standard laboratory buildings.

The S&TF's architectural design makes good use of natural light through windows and
clerestories. Daylighting in the S&TF will be automated, allowing the building to
save energy by dimming or turning off electric lights. The building has an east-west
orientation, so that daylighting can provide100 percent of the ambient light requirements
in the open office areas, while maximizing daylighting opportunities in the laboratories.

Another focus is energy recovery for ventilation air in the labs. Energy recovery
can substantially reduce the mechanical heating and cooling requirements associated
with conditioning ventilation air in most labs. Most commonly, energy is recovered
from exhaust air and used to precondition supply air. Because energy recovery systems
reduce peak heating and cooling requirements, heating and cooling systems can be smaller.
As with the SERF, the S&TF will recover 50 percent of its energy through the use of
energy recovery technologies.

Colorado's climate was taken into consideration and the use of evaporative cooling
was included in the S&TF's design. Occupants of the first floor offices will be able
to control the temperature in each of their work areas thanks to the raised floor
air distribution system being used.

History

The Conceptual Design Report (CDR) for the S&TF was originally proposed and submitted
for funding in fiscal year 2001 after being validated by the Department of Energy
in 1999.

NREL's senior management reviewed the updated CDR in FY01. Director Richard Truly
decided to further evaluate the proposed S&TF design, which at the time was a one-story
structure, taking Sustainable NREL initiatives into consideration. A design charrette
on August 14 and 15, 2001, resulted in a recommendation to design the building as
a two-story facility to conserve land.

"The original footprint just did not fit with the Lab's mission," said Deployment
Programs Project Leader Nancy Carlisle. "Our buildings are an extension of who we
are and we needed to take the sustainable concept into consideration."

NREL's Site Operations Office researched the feasibility and cost of the two-story
concept and briefed NREL management on its findings in late November 2001. NREL management
directed Site Operations to proceed with the two-story concept and an updated CDR
was completed on February 5, 2002.

Following a nation-wide search that included interest from 37 different firms, the
SmithGroup was chosen as the Architect-Engineer for the S&TF based on the firm's extensive
experience in safety, semiconductor facility design, mechanical design and research
laboratory design. The SmithGroup also demonstrated the capability to incorporate
"green building" technologies (such as daylighting, energy efficiency, water conservation,
recycled materials and LEED™ requirements) into design solutions. The LEED™ Green
Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing
high-performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council
representing all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue to
contribute to its evolution.

The SmithGroup completed the final design on July 30, 2003, but the FY04 budget did
not originally contain the required construction line item funding necessary to start
building construction, so the construction start was delayed. However, on Dec. 1,
the Laboratory was notified that it would receive $4 million from the Energy and Water
Development Appropriations Act of 2004 to be used for construction.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for construction services was issued on March 1, 2004,
and Site Operations expects to select a contractor later this year.